Guardians - Properly Prepared
by WilyGryphon
Summary: Master Yen Sid seeks to have Kairi and Lea train to use the Keyblade so that they can serve as Guardians of Light in the coming Keyblade War. To ensure that they are physically and mentally prepared, he sends them into an alternate universe to live through a full adventure so that they will be ready to fight. A response to KHIII. Warning of Spoilers and Ranting in Author's Notes.
1. Prologue

**I beat Kingdom Hearts III last week and really enjoyed it. I had some problems with the pacing, however, and also the endgame cutscenes had their ups and downs. One of my biggest issues was the treatment of Kairi. They built her up to helping out in the big battles, but she only had a minute of on-screen fighting. The rest of the time, she froze up when Terranort attacked (everyone suffered from failing to react properly and barely even "fought" in that scene, so it's not just on her failing to attempt to block an attack), got kidnapped before you could even appreciate her presence in the party in one fight, and then killed just to give a reason for Sora to disappear at the end. It was just horrible writing, and I don't know what they were thinking.**

**Unfortunately, from a technical standpoint, I can believe that these incidents would occur, even if the others didn't suddenly forget how to fight against enemies that they had already beaten at least once. Kairi and Lea only received training to use the Keyblade; they were not trained to be ready to fight a war (which was, you know, the point of training them in what they claimed to be a world that benefited from hyperbolic time, though you'd be forgiven for thinking it was in real time). Lea had fighting experience, but neither of them had any real experience in combat with a Keyblade. Sora got to where he is by fighting for his life and the lives of others in active combat with Heartless, Nobodies, and villains who were more than willing to kill him. To be frank, Kairi and Lea were not ready for a warzone**—**especially not Kairi. It's not like the manga portrayal where she fought back at every instance.  
**

**So, I decided to write this, as a way to address the technical issues. The idea is that they will have the chance to get real fighting experience by going through an adventure of their own, in a sort of alternate version of Sora's adventure. And if Xemnas does try to kidnap her in the Keyblade War... well, I already addressed that on my DeviantArt account:)  
**

**Now that I've gotten all that off my chest, let us begin.**

* * *

Prologue

"Master, I came here because I wanted to help somehow. What can I do?"

Kairi stood alongside her friend Riku and acquaintance Mickey Mouse in the study of the Mysterious Tower. At the desk across from them sat the elder sorcerer and former Keyblade Master Yen Sid. Yen Sid had been the one to train Mickey years ago in the art of using the Keyblade. Only a few days ago, he sent Riku and her other close friend Sora on a Mark of Mastery exam to unlock a special power, which Riku had succeeded in and Sora failed due to outside machinations. And just that morning, he had sent Riku to bring her to the Tower. When she arrived, he had started to discuss how she was able to use a Keyblade as well. However, the conversation veered off from that point as Mickey recounted an episode that would lead into the task that he and Riku would soon undertake. With the story told and Riku and Mickey's decision made, Kairi brought the focus back to herself.

"I have entrusted the wizard Merlin to oversee the training for our new Keyblade wielders, yourself and Lea," Yen Sid explained.

"Lea?" Kairi asked, confused.

"He means Axel," Mickey clarified.

Kairi turned to him, a shocked expression on her face. What?" she blurted, indignant. She remembered Axel quite well as the man who confronted and kidnapped her several weeks ago.

"He's a regular person now. He even saved Sora for us. You can trust him," Mickey assured her.

Kairi turned to Riku for his thoughts, and he nodded in confirmation. Thinking more on it, she recalled Sora telling her that Axel had given his life to help him get to Organization XIII's castle to rescue her. However, she still felt sore about the attack, and did not know if she could simply forgive him.

She decided to change the topic. "So, Merlin will be teaching us? I didn't know he was a Keyblade Master," she remarked.

Yen Sid shook his head. "He himself has no experience with the Keyblade. However, he possesses the wisdom to advise in the mechanics and use of the weapon. In the past and the future, he has advised kings and the masters of other legendary swords. He also has access to a world in a pocket dimension where you will be able to take all the time you need to train."

"Wait, hang on," Mickey interrupted, holding his hands out. "You mean that he's just going to teach them to use the Keyblade and maybe some magic, and just let them spar until he says they're ready?"

"Is there a problem, Mickey?" Yen Sid asked.

"Well, I'm just saying that they're not just going to need to know how to handle themselves with the Keyblade in general, but they'll need to be ready and able to fight for their lives," Mickey argued. "Gosh, I remember how scared I was in my first real fights, even with Donald and Goofy by my side. When I first fought Pete, I lost immediately. If Donald and Goofy hadn't come to the rescue, I'd be dead."

"He has a point," Riku agreed. "Kairi's not just training as a Keyblade wielder. We're bringing her in to be a Guardian of Light, to fight Xehanort's Darknesses. We should all be ready for a war against all of our most dangerous enemies. And, no offense, Kairi—you did pretty well against the Shadows and the Dusks and Creepers—but you don't exactly have a 'warrior's instinct'."

"No, you're right," Kairi conceded. "Ansem and Xemnas gave you and Sora a lot of trouble in the past. I think I'll need to be as strong as I can get if I want to be able to help you out." She turned back to face Yen Sid. "Would there maybe be a better way for me and… Lea to train?"

Yen Sid closed his eyes and stroked his beard as he considered his guests' argument. After a solid minute, he came up with an idea, opening his eyes back up. "There may indeed be a way," he said. "I would have to consult with Merlin on if it is indeed feasible, but we could send you and Lea to a realm that is even further outside of this World's flow of time, where you will have an indefinite time to develop the strength, skills, and experience that you will need."

"What kind of realm is that?" Kairi asked.

"I will need to discuss it with Merlin before we may attempt it. I will call him and Lea here. In the meantime, Mickey, Riku, you must prepare in your endeavor to locate Aqua. Take these with you." He waved his hand, and two briefcases, one big and one small, materialized on the desk in a puff of smoke. "The three good fairies asked that you be presented with them. They are new vestments which will shield the both of you from the darkness."

Riku and Mickey took their briefcases and bowed. "Thank you, Master," Riku said. He and Mickey turned to leave. "Good luck, Kairi."

Kairi smiled and waved good-bye. "Good luck," she replied.

* * *

Ten minutes later, Merlin and Lea materialized in the study in a puff of smoke, the wizard having brought the former Nobody from Radiant Garden with his magic. Kairi's gaze shifted over to Lea nervously. Complete with the Organizations' trademark black coat, Lea looked the exact same as he did when he confronted her on the Destiny Islands beach and in the hangout under the train tracks in Twilight Town. His spiky red hair, a brighter shade compared to her own, was unmistakable, although she did notice that the two upside-down teardrop tattoos that were under his eyes were no longer present. In spite of Mickey and Riku's assurance, she still felt wary around the man. As he noticed her and the way she looked at him as well, Lea shifted around awkwardly, scratching the back of his head nervously, unsure of what he ought to say, if anything.

In the meantime, Yen Sid and Merlin spoke quietly in the corner. The old sorcerers evidently did not want them to hear anything about what they were discussing until they had all of the finer points ironed out. Though, it was also possible that they were leaving the students separate so that they would have room to talk amongst themselves as well.

"Uh, hey there," Lea greeted awkwardly. Kairi turned back to him, her expression plainly showing how uncomfortable she was with the arrangement. She quickly realized that he was just as uncomfortable. Lea sighed. "Look, I'm really sorry about before." Kairi raised an eyebrow, making Lea feel even less confident. "It's just… I… I'm sorry I tried to hurt you. I shouldn't have done it."

Kairi stayed silent, unsure of how she should respond. The awkward silence persisted for several minutes, before it was finally broken by Yen Sid, who by that point had concluded his deliberations with Merlin.

"There is a possibility that we believe may help you," the aged sorcerer said.

"Now, you see, I spend quite a bit of my time exploring the space-time continuum, usually by visiting the future and the past. But I also go to study anomalies which Yen Sid detects with his Sight, through which I have found a range of pocket dimensions in which time does not flow the same as it does in the worlds you are familiar with," Merlin explained. "But beyond that, in some of the more, ahem, chaotic swirls of mystery, I have found worlds that are completely disconnected from the rules that govern our universe, although in my visits to these lands I have noticed that the rules are quite similar, and some of the terrains and backgrounds are not entirely alien or beyond our imagination…"

"Can you get to the point?" Lea asked impatiently.

Merlin let out a huff. "Right. Well, in short, as well as pocket dimensions with hyperbolic time flows, I have also uncovered parallel universes separate from our own." He deflated as he noticed Kairi and Lea each give him a strange look, as they had no idea what he was talking about. He sighed. With a wave of his want, he conjured a diorama that included balls suspended on toothpicks and small, cinched leather bags sitting on the base, all contained within a box. Lea chuckled, getting the feeling that Merlin had to explain the concept before.

"This is the universe. It contains everything that you can imagine to exist, such as the worlds, the vast space in between, and the people who live here. The natural laws apply everywhere, although they are distorted to a certain extent in different worlds, and it all flows on a singular time axis, though the rate of passage of time is dilated differently from world to world. These pouches represent pocket dimensions—" he opened one of the pouches to reveal a scene painted inside "—entire worlds compressed into a wrinkle in the space between worlds. As I mentioned a moment ago, even time is compressed in many of them, unless a stable link is formed between one world and the dimension. Ahem, are you following along?"

Lea shrugged. "I guess so," Kairi answered hesitantly. "Please, continue."

Merlin cleared his throat. "Now then…" He waved his wand and conjured another diorama, which sat next to the first one. It was very similar, although the balls and pouches were arranged differently. "This is another universe. It has its own laws, although the ones I have been able to visit were very similar to our own. It's probably because that would be the only way that I could exist in them without my presence causing disastrous imbalances in the local space. Events also seem to have passed in a different manner, meaning that these universes have different histories from our own. Under most circumstances, it is completely separate from the other universes, although I have found a few tunnels between them."

"So, you're going to send us to another universe to train? How's that supposed to work?" Lea asked.

"Well, to avoid paradoxes, only one version of you will be able to exist at a time," Merlin explained. "In order to get around that, we will implant you into your counterparts in one of the other universes."

"Kinda like how time travel works?" Kairi surmised, having heard a quick summary of the Sleeping Worlds adventure from Riku.

Merlin nodded. "Yes. Well, rather, how it would work for you. You will be inserted into the place of the Kairi and Lea in the other universe, whom we have selected to be as close to your current physical state as possible to avoid confusion. You will exist in the same bodies and space as your doppelgängers, and they will share your memories of the experience for as long as you are there, but you will retain your current abilities, and your personas will maintain full autonomy over your bodies."

Yen Sid nodded, confirming what Merlin explained. "Indeed. In this new universe, you will both go on your own adventure, growing in strength and uncovering skills in much the same way as Sora and Riku have in the past. And once you have completed your training, you will take the tunnel back to this universe, from the moment you departed, ideally."

"I guess that sidesteps the issue of what would happen if the universe realized we were gone," Kairi mused.

"Oh, but be warned," Merlin advised. "If something goes wrong and you, perchance, were to perish in the other universe—"

"We'd be SOL?" Lea guessed. Merlin nodded in confirmation. "Great. Sounds like a rock-solid plan."

Yen Sid sighed. "Very well, then. We have scanned across the known multiverse, and have found a suitable world. You two will be together on the Destiny Islands, at the same age as you are now, at a point in time shortly before you would be able to set off on a worlds-spanning quest. Do you have any questions?"

The students thought for a moment before shaking their heads, as ready as they felt they could be for such a complicated plan. Kairi in particular wanted to be in a position where she could help as soon as she could manage.

"Then let us begin the ritual," Yen Sid said.

* * *

The sorcerers led the students into the side room accessed via the wardrobe, where they drew a magic circle and lit candles. At their instruction, Kairi and Lea stood inside a pair of small circles, which were surrounded with more symbols than the larger ones which Yen Sid and Merlin entered. Once everything was prepared, the sorcerers began chanting invocations. Kairi tried to listen to what they were saying, though she could not decipher the meaning of the words. A strong wind swirling around her made it even more difficult to hear them. A pillar of light shot up from under her feet and shone up to the ceiling, though she felt as though it pierced the ceiling and shone across an infinite distance.

As the symbols began to glow brilliantly, Yen Sid and Merlin finished their chanting and raised their arms into the air. "Good luck," Merlin said.

Kairi could swear that she heard Yen Sid say something under his breath, barely audible, but still noticeable. "May your heart be your guiding key."

And with that, Kairi and Lea were blown into the air, merging with the pillar of light and passing through the ceiling. In an instant, the tower vanished and they were flying through the swirling cosmos.


	2. Destiny Islands - A New World

Destiny Islands – A New World

When Kairi opened her eyes, she found herself staring at the ceiling of her bedroom, watching the fan spin around. She pushed herself into a sitting position, shielding her eyes from the morning sun. Looking around the room, she noticed that it was similar to the one she was familiar with, but there were a few differences. Her table was decorated in mostly the same way, though she had a few extra arts-and-crafts projects that she could not make out from her position. Looking at the pink-painted walls, she noticed a few more photos than there were in the room that she was familiar with. She climbed out of bed and walked over to the wall of pictures. At first glance, some of the events that they depicted were recognizable: her first ice cream with Sora, Riku, and her adoptive father, Arvis (her adoptive mother, Raine, took the photo); her, Sora and Riku drawing on the wall of the cave that they had called "The Secret Place"; her on stage dressed as the leading lady in the school play in middle school, although the costumes looked different than the ones used for _I Want to be Your Canary_. There were others added, apparently more recent. It clicked in her mind that it was due to how Sora and Riku had not disappeared for over a year, she had not vanished after Axel's kidnapping attempt, and they were able to share more experiences together.

However, there was something different about most of the pictures. She and her friends had shifted in position to allow another person to fit in the scene. That person was a boy, about sixteen years old in the earliest pictures and a decade older in the more recent ones. He had spiky red hair that were aimed more toward the back rather than Sora's all-over-the-place nest and Riku's downward-pointing hair. His ensemble was largely consistent with a white sleeveless shirt, a red short-sleeved jacket, brown shorts, red-and-white sneakers, and a yellow scarf. Kairi recognized him by not just his hair, but his green eyes and cocky, playful smile.

"Axel?" she whispered in surprise. As she thought more on it, Yen Sid had mentioned that they would be in a universe where they would be on the same world, almost certainly so that they could set off together. Wondering what their lives were like here, she took a look at some of the new pictures.

One of them showed Lea carrying a six-year-old Kairi on his shoulder. They wore baseball caps and sat on bleachers at the baseball field. It appeared as though Lea had taken her to a baseball game, something she had never gone to in the life that she was familiar with. In spite of this, she had a quick flashback to such an event. The player up to bat hit a home run, and she and Lea were cheering. This confused her. Those were not her memories. Did they belong to "a" her?

She was roused from her thoughts by a knock on the door. She opened it and saw Lea standing in the hall. He wore a black t-shirt and red pants, which were evidently his pajamas. He carried a red frisbee, balancing it with one finger on his left hand. The design resembled an orange flame with a cartoon face, though it was marred by several scratches.

"Morning, Flower Girl," Lea greeted. Kairi suddenly had a flash of recognition. She somehow knew that "Flower Girl" was the nickname that Lea had given her as a child.

"Axel? What are you doing here?" Kairi asked, surprised.

"Uh, we are on this train together, aren't we?" Lea retorted. "And please, call me Lea."

Kairi shook her head. "That's not what I mean. Why are you in my house?"

Lea shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine. I was in the room next door when I woke up after our space voyage. I even found this in here." He twirled his frisbee. "Its twin is in on the dresser. Man, this bad boy brings back memories."

"Oh." Kairi glanced back at the pictures on the wall, trying to piece some clues together from them. "Say, have you had any other memories coming back? Memories that might not exactly be yours?"

Lea stopped twirling his frisbee to ponder the question. "You know, actually, I did get bits and pieces. Looking out the window and seeing Sora and your other friend, Riku. Throwing the frisbees back and forth with you and another kid I've never met before… Tidus. Boom! There. Is that what you're talking about? I never even saw the guy before but I suddenly got his name memorized. Crazy, huh?"

"Hmm… You know, I think I know what's going on," Kairi said. "These memories are from the versions of us in this universe. Merlin said that we'd exist in the same time and space, and they would share our memories and experiences while we were here. So, I guess we get to share their memories, too."

Lea shrugged. "I guess it would make sense. Wouldn't want to drop us in a world where our histories are wildly different and we don't have a clue why anything is the way it is," he figured. "It'd raise too many questions that I would not want to answer."

Kairi sighed. "Well, if only we could figure it all out right now, so we don't have to wait for something to trigger the memories before we get any answers."

"You know, I think I saw a notebook on my dresser. Looked kinda like a journal, though I didn't get to read it. Maybe my doppelgänger kept a log that we can use to get answers."

Kairi smiled. "That's a great idea." She followed Lea into his room, where she noticed the walls had been painted orange. She remembered the room being in her own house, but it was used instead as a study. There was a picture on the wall, depicting Lea sparring with Riku, with Kairi and Sora cheering on. A soft smile touched her lips as a memory of that day played in her mind. Sora was cheering for Riku, as per usual, while she rooted for Lea, although she still supported Riku. That only confirmed her suspicion that these memories were from the versions that they were inhabiting. She realized that, here, she and Lea seemed to be close. She knew that he was not from Destiny Islands, where they came from, so she wondered what he was doing here.

"Here it is!" Lea held up a blue notebook with his name written on it. He brought it over to Kairi and opened it up.

"Nice handwriting," Kairi said sarcastically as she read the uneven lettering.

Lea chuckled. "Yeah. I was never that great at it," he admitted. "Even when I was writing a journal while I was with the Organization."

"Oh, well. Let's see what's in here."

Lea cleared his throat as he began to read aloud. "'I still can't believe it. I don't know how, but it looks like I'm on another world. Not sure if I should count myself lucky, since all those shadow things went nuts on my home town. I found myself here two days ago, washed up on the sandy beach. They took me to a doctor's office, along with the girl who was found with me. She just had a few scrapes and I had some light bruising, the doc said. This guy, Arvis- he's the mayor, it looks like -let us stay at his place until we could get everything sorted out. Yesterday, his wife said I should keep a journal. Said the ordeal would be tough to get through, and keeping track of everything should help.'"

"Your home world was attacked by the Heartless?" Kairi asked.

Lea remained silent as memories came pouring in. Monsters rose from the shadows and chased him down. He was running, though he was not alone. There were two others fleeing with him, then there was one. He was separated from one of them, but he was carrying the other in his arms, so they did not become separated. His only remaining companion in that incident was a little girl.

He nodded. "Yeah. Radiant Garden," he replied.

Kairi's eyes widened. "Radiant Garden? Like Hollow Bastion? That's… That's where I'm from. I mean, that's where I was born."

"Do you remember what it was like?" Lea asked.

Kairi shook her head. "No. I was five when the Heartless attacked and I somehow ended up here. I barely remember any of it." As she thought about it, she realized that the same applied for the Kairi of this universe; no new memories surfaced even as she considered what must have been a horrifying ordeal.

"Makes sense. But it looks like the 'me' here, he's got it all memorized. He remembers his old home, and he remembers what happened there."

"Oh… So, what's the next entry say?"

Lea turned the page and glanced down at the journal. "'These two kids came to visit us today. One of them was a little ball of energy. The other was more calm and thoughtful. That guy, Riku, he reminds me of Isa. I guess that means his buddy, Sora, is kinda like me. They asked us about how we got here, and if we were from another world. I didn't know how to respond, and the girl- Kairi's her name -didn't remember a thing. Poor kid. I wanted to comfort her, but I didn't know what to do about myself. The kids were there to offer us both support, which made me feel a bit better.'"

"Isa?" Kairi inquired, not recognizing the name.

Lea nodded. "Yeah. My best friend. Or, he was, when we were people before," he explained. "After we were in the Organization, we started to drift apart. He blamed me, saying I'd changed. Maybe he was right. But he changed too, and I guess neither of us could really catch up."

Kairi raised an eyebrow. "He was in the Organization too? Was he…"

Lea nodded. "Yep. Saïx. The guy with blue hair who grabbed you after you ditched me." He sighed. "And now Xehanort got him again. He's in the 'Real Organization XIII'."

Kairi looked at her companion sympathetically. She knew that he used to be friends with Sora's Nobody, Roxas, and she was starting to realize that, in spite of his faults and his choices, he was a troubled man who just wanted his friends back. "I'm sorry," she said sincerely.

Lea let out another sigh, then forced a smile. "Don't worry about it, Flower Girl. Let's hold off on this until later. You hungry? Pancakes, maybe?"

Kairi nodded. "Okay."

* * *

After getting dressed, they went down to the kitchen, where Lea had started cooking pancakes. Kairi had donned the same clothes that she had worn before being transported, while Lea wore a red-and-orange sleeveless shirt, red-and-black shorts with orange flame designs on the pockets, red-and-orange sneakers with black soles, and a red bangle on his left wrist. A chain necklace with a sun-shaped pendant hung around his neck. Arvis, a brown-haired, brown-eyed man who stood two inches shorter than Lea, and Raine, a kind-faced woman with short black hair and blue eyes, joined them, so Lea prepared pancakes for the four of them.

"These are delicious!" Kairi said appreciatively.

"Thanks," Lea replied. He recalled spending Saturday mornings in the Kitchen That Never Was cooking The Breakfast That Never Tasted for the rest of the Organization (the task was relegated to other members on different days; one of the few things that he missed after his time in Castle Oblivion was the omelets that Lexaeus would make). Sometimes Roxas or Xion would help, although Roxas occasionally allowed the pancakes to burn by mistake. He noticed that the brand of mix that he used for this meal was different from the one that he used back then, and he decided that he liked this mix better.

"So, will you be off to the islet today?" Arvis asked.

"You bet!" Kairi replied.

"You still making that raft?" Raine asked. Kairi and Lea nodded. "How far along are you with it?"

Kairi and Lea reflected on the memories that poured in on them working on the raft with Sora and Riku. The vessel, at its current point in construction, was bigger than the one that Kairi, Sora and Riku had put together in their timeline. There were two levels in the base so that they could store their supplies beneath the top level, which Kairi realized was a better design plan.

"We're getting there," Kairi answered. "It'll be done in a few days."

"And then we'll have to practice sailing and fishing at sea," Lea added. Kairi mentally chastised herself, as she and her friends had not thought to make such preparations before they had planned to set sail. The original plan had been to set sail after the raft had been completed and the provisions had been gathered. She started to feel glad that the island had been destroyed and they had been scattered to the worlds before they could put their plan in motion, which was a somewhat disturbing thought.

Arvis chuckled. "Well, I'm glad to hear that you have it mapped out," he said.

"Watch out for each other," Raine advised.

"Ah, don't worry. I'll keep them out of trouble," Lea boasted.

Arvis smiled. "I'm sure you will."

They finished their breakfast. Lea and Kairi washed the dishes and set them to air dry. They gathered their supplies in backpacks, filled up bottles of water, and prepared lunches and snacks. They said goodbye to Arvis and Raine and left for the dock.

"Your mom and dad are nice people," Lea said as they made their way down the street.

Kairi smiled and nodded. "Yeah. They really are great."

"So, what did you tell your folks when you got back with Sora and the others?" Lea asked.

Kairi giggled. "Don't worry. I didn't name names. I told them that a guy from Organization XIII kidnapped me, but I escaped by biting his arm and kicking him in a soft spot, but then another creep grabbed me and took me to the castle."

Lea gripped his groin as he remembered the pain from that episode. "I'll admit, that was a good one. But it's not going to work against the rest of the Seekers of Darkness."

"It will if I'm as strong and fast as Sora," Kairi quipped.

Lea raised his hands up defensively. "Well, then I better be careful."

When they reached the dock, Kairi checked her rowboat and a set of four oars out at the boat shack, and she and Lea carried it out to the water. They dropped their bags into the boat, climbed in, and began rowing to the small islet that held so many memories for Kairi. After a few minutes of rowing, they came up to the short stretch of pier at the islet's shore. A girl in a yellow dress and brown sandals, with green eyes and brown hair that curled up three ways at the tips, Selphie, sat on the edge of the pier. She waved to them as they approached, and they took a moment from rowing to wave back. A jump rope was tied around her waist, and a nunchaku was laid in her rowboat, which Kairi and Lea noticed when they brought their boat up and began to tie it up to a piling. Kairi was impressed that this Selphie had taken up a more advanced weapon, even if it was just for play. As memories of sparring with the girl entered her mind (at which point she learned that she participated in some of the matches), she realized that it might have been due to Lea being part of the group in this universe, bringing an awareness of the dangers in the outside worlds, and with the desire to keep Kairi safe.

"Booyaka, Kairi! Booyaka, Lea!" Selphie greeted.

Lea was momentarily thrown by the exclamation, but he relaxed as he "remembered" that "Booyaka" was an expression that Selphie had made up and which she had tried to get her friends to adopt.

"Hi, Selphie," Kairi said. "How are you doing?"

"I'm doing well." The brunette spread her arms, leaned her head back, and closed her eyes as she felt the wind blow. "Ah, the breeze feels great."

Kairi felt the wind blow through her hair, while Lea felt it ruffle his spiky locks. "It sure does," Kairi replied. She noticed that there were four other rowboats by the pier, and she realized that Sora and Riku, as well as Tidus and Wakka, were on the islet already. "Hey, have you seen Sora and Riku?"

Selphie giggled. "I saw Riku head through the door to the cove. As for Sora…" She turned to glance along the beach. "Look over there."

Kairi and Lea followed her gaze and saw a familiar figure lying down on the sandy beach, his arms crossed behind his head as he napped. Lea let out a laugh and Kairi giggled. Same old Sora.

"Thanks. We'll go mess around with him a little," Kairi said.

Selphie giggled. "You do that."

Kairi and Lea took their stuff out of their boat, climbed over the pier, and dropped onto the beach. Setting their bags down halfway, they walked over and stopped next to Sora, Kairi standing behind his resting head. She smiled, admiring his handsome, sun-tanned features while taking in what he looked like in this universe. He wore similar clothes to those "her Sora" wore before and during his first adventure across the worlds, although they were different, and they better fit his sixteen-year-old self. The sleeveless one-piece red jumpsuit was very similar to the one he used to have, with a zipper that went down the middle as well as baggy pantlegs that extended below the knees, but there were extra white lines and black belt straps around the lower half, and Kairi could make out a dark red crown design at the base of the pantlegs. He wore the same short-sleeved black hooded jacket with white sleeves, yellow and black shoes with high-top collars, white fingerless gloves with blue, black and yellow straps and thin metal discs on the backs, hip-chain loop with crown-shaped links, loosely-secured blue belt, and chain necklace with a crown pendant. His muscles were not as big as "her" present-day Sora's, although he was more noticeably muscular than he was when he was fourteen and on the island.

Kairi was content to stand there and wait for him to awaken when his eyes fluttered open. He pushed himself into a sitting position for a few seconds, then yawned and fell back to go back to sleep. However, Kairi had leaned forward during that time, and when Sora laid back down, he suddenly saw Kairi's face, taking him by surprise and jolting him awake. Sora shot back up, then turned to face Kairi with a look of annoyance while she and Lea laughed.

"Gimme a break, Kairi," Sora complained. Kairi smiled as she looked into his blue eyes which were glaring at her. She always thought he looked cute when he was annoyed.

Kairi stood up straight and held her hands behind her back. "Sora, you lazy bum. Of course I would find you snoozing down here," she teased.

"No, this huge, black… thing swallowed me up. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't—" He grunted in pain as Lea leaned down to smack him on the back of the head.

"Have you been dreaming again?" Lea asked.

"It wasn't a dream!" Sora protested. "Or was it? I don't know."

Kairi raised an eyebrow in surprise. She recalled having a similar exchange with Sora the day before her islands were swallowed by darkness. She had not put much thought to the dream that Sora claimed to have had, but she now wondered if such an episode, particularly one that has been repeated at a different point in his timeline and shortly before what she knew would be the beginning of a grand quest to boot, was of any real significance. However, not wanting him to become suspicious of her knowing more than she ought to, she rolled her eyes and responded with a teasing "Yeah, sure."

Lea leaned in to meet Sora eye to eye. "Aren't you supposed to be helping with the boat? You know, if you can't pull your weight, we might just have to leave you behind," he joked.

"Hey! I can pull my weight!" Sora protested.

Lea grinned. "Oh yeah? Prove it!" He pulled his frisbees out of his bag and held them in his classic pose, gripping one frisbee tightly with one hand while letting the other one dangle on two fingers as his arms hung to the side.

Sora smiled and jumped to his feet. He ran a few steps back and pulled his wooden toy sword out of the sand in which he had embedded it and brandished it, holding it to the side as if it were a club.

Kairi laughed and clapped her hands twice. "Ready? Go!"

Lea threw one frisbee underhand, and Sora blocked it with his sword. Lea threw his other frisbee, hitting Sora in the side. Sora ran to attack Lea while the redhead picked up his first frisbee. Sora swung his sword overhand, and Lea blocked it with his frisbee. They matched blows for a few seconds before Lea jumped back and threw the frisbee. Sora deflected it and it flew back and hit Lea in the temple. Lea's vision spun for a few seconds, then he shook his head to clear it and ran to the side to avoid Sora's next attack. He scooped up his other frisbee and threw it at a vertical angle, hitting Sora in the chest. The frisbee flew back into Lea's hand, and he dove in to swipe at Sora's shoulder with it. However, Sora blocked the attack, swinging his sword up against Lea's wrist, then brought it down across his chest. Lea kicked him in the stomach, knocking him back, then ran to pick up his other frisbee. With both frisbees in hand, Lea jumped toward Sora and struck out at him. They matched blows several times, each fighter connecting multiple attacks. The duel continued until Sora fell to one knee, unable to continue fighting.

"Good show, Sora," Lea commended. He extended his hand and helped Sora to his feet.

Sora nodded. "Back at ya." Kairi took a Potion out of her bag and tossed it to him. He caught it and took a sip, feeling the aches and pain fade away. He gave the bottle to Lea, who drank the rest and healed up.

"Keep it up. You might even beat me one day," Lea said encouragingly. He remembered how, in his past encounters with Sora, the teen had beaten him. He felt that he would have enjoyed clashing against him in their last run-in, when he was at his strongest, but circumstances forbade it.

"What? Am I missing all the fun over here?" Kairi, Lea, and Sora turned to address the speaker, whom they recognized as Riku. He was a few inches taller than Sora, though not nearly as tall as Lea, and his muscles were bigger than both of them. He wore the same clothes that Kairi had last seen him in, those being a sleeveless black zippered shirt with two zipper handles and a collar, a sleeveless white jacket with yellow trim and insides, blue jeans, a black belt, grey sneakers with orange laces, and a white glove that covered his left hand and wrist while leaving the fingers and knuckles exposed. He had blue-green eyes and shoulder-length silver hair that was styled with gel so that the back and the bangs ended in spikes, much like the way the "other" Riku had his hair styled two years before. Kairi liked his hair better this way; she did not like the long hair that he had when he regained his true form, thinking it was too "edgy", and was glad that he had cut it before he had gone to take his Mark of Mastery Exam.

"Hey, Riku," Kairi greeted.

"'Sup?" Lea waved.

"So, I guess I'm the only one working on the raft," Riku joked. He tossed the log that he was carrying at Sora, who stumbled as he caught it, and marched over to Kairi and Lea. "And you're just as lazy as he is."

Lea shrugged. "You got me."

Kairi giggled. "So you noticed. Okay. Let's finish it together. I'll race you!"

At the same time she said that, Riku had plopped down to take a breather, and he responded with a sigh. "Are you kidding?"

"What?" Sora asked, regaining his balance, setting the log down, and taking a deep breath.

Kairi giggled again. "Ready? Go!"

Sora and Riku looked at each other, and they reached an instant consensus. Kairi smiled, knowing that they were going to race despite their protests. Riku shot to his feet, and he and Sora began to run across the beach. Kairi and Lea traded glances and grins and began to run after them. Sora and Riku were nearly neck in neck, Riku only a step ahead of Sora. Lea willed himself to run slower than usual so that the much shorter Kairi would keep pace.


	3. Destiny Islands - The Secret Place

**After seeing the Kingdom Hearts III: Re:Mind trailer last week, I am excited for the DLC. Exploring Scala ad Caelum, fighting the Xehanort clones with ALL of the Guardians of Light (aside from Sora, Kairi, Donald, and Goofy), the Final Fantasy gang, Yozora, and, more pertaining to the theme of this fic, playable Kairi fighting Master Xehanort! Kairi will finally get to see action and have a dignified fight, and it turns out she actually is pretty powerful. She can even fly! (or Glide, hard to say) Doesn't erase my criticisms toward how Merlin appeared to have trained her in base game, and it only makes... _that_ scene more aggravating (but the Xehanorts all had a Jobber Aura active whenever they were in a cutscene anyway). And it definitely doesn't forgive what they did with her to begin with.  
**

**Oh, well. I'll be patiently waiting for the DLC to come out, January 23. In the meantime, read on, and I hope you enjoy.**

* * *

Destiny Islands – The Secret Place

After they reached the raft on the other side of the islet, they divvied up the work for the day. Sora and Riku would gather materials and bring the bags with work tools while Kairi and Lea would work on construction. When the materials and tools had been gathered, Sora and Riku would join them. Kairi guessed that Sora had taken the time to spar with Tidus, Wakka, and Selphie while he was supposed to be collecting materials. When they had regrouped, they stopped to eat lunch. Kairi pulled out her peanut butter and fluffernutter sandwich and sat down next to Sora, who had a ham sandwich.

"So, what did you dream about?" she asked. "Is it alright if I ask?"

Sora nodded. "Yeah. I don't really know what it was. It was weird. It started out with me sinking in the water. Then I opened my eyes and I was standing on the beach. Riku was standing in the water, and a huge wave was about to fall over him. I ran to try and help him, but he just stood there, reaching his hand out to me, as if he wasn't afraid that he was about to be swept up. Then the wave crashed and submerged us both. He was still standing there. I tried to reach out to him, but the current pulled me away. I rose to the surface and saw you on the shore, waving to me. I ran over to meet you, but then we saw some shooting stars, and there was another me falling from the sky. Then I was suddenly falling into the sky. I fell into the sun, and then I was underwater again. I kept falling before I landed on a dark surface. I took a step, and doves flew up from the floor, which turned into a big stained glass window with a picture of a girl eating an apple. Everything else was pitch black. The only light came from the floor and a few spotlights that appeared every so often.

"Then I heard a voice. It was kinda faint and raspy. It said something like, 'So much to do, so little time. Take your time. Don't be afraid.' Then these pedestals and floating weapons appeared: a sword, a shield, and a magic wand. The voice told me to take one and give up another. I took the sword and gave up the wand. Then the floor shattered and I fell until I landed on another platform with another girl in a white gown. These black monsters with twitching antennae and glowing yellow eyes appeared out of the ground and attacked me, but the sword appeared in my hands and I defeated them, but then I was swallowed in a pool of darkness."

Kairi considered the implications of the dream's imagery. She immediately recognized that the monsters were the same as the Shadow Heartless that had plagued her Sora throughout his adventures. She remembered the sight of them as they overran her islands on that fateful night, and she also recalled fighting them alongside Riku in the Organization's castle, the first time she had held a Keyblade. Reflecting on the platforms, she guessed that the girls depicted were two of the Princesses of Heart. She did not know who was whom, as she had never properly met them, but she remembered catching a glimpse of a young woman in a white ball gown trapped in a crystal coffin as she, Donald and Goofy fled from the Great Hall in Hollow Bastion. She wondered if he had seen any of the other Princesses in the dream.

"Next thing I knew, I was on another stained glass window. There were three silhouettes in heart-shaped frames, but I couldn't make them out. A door appeared and I opened it. When I stepped through, I was up on the tree fort. Tidus, Selphie, and Wakka were there. They asked me these weird questions. After I answered them, the voice said something about my journey starting in midday, then I was on a window that showed a woman in a purple dress surrounded by thorns. I fought some more of the shadowy monsters, then went up a ramp of glass plates that appeared out of nowhere until I was on another window, which showed a dark-skinned woman in a green dress."

Kairi was confused. She did not remember seeing anyone who fit that description when she was in the castle. There was one girl with a darker skin tone, but her clothes had been blue, and she could not tell if it could properly be called a "dress".

"There was a spotlight shining in the middle of the platform," Sora continued. "I stepped into the column of light, but then a monster rose from my shadow. It grew until it was, like, ten times my height. I tried to run, but there was nowhere to go. The sword appeared in my hand and I fought it. I think I beat it, but then it started to fall on me, and then I was swallowed in darkness. That's when I woke up."

Kairi restrained herself from shuddering. She knew exactly what monster he was talking about. She had never properly seen it, but it had haunted her nightmares for months. The Darkside Heartless was the monster that led the creatures of darkness in attacking her world two years ago, and she had heard that there were many more in the Realm of Darkness. She wondered if she would be facing one of those monsters in the days to come.

"That does sound like a weird dream," she said in response to Sora's account.

"Was it really a dream?" Sora mused. "What was that place? So bizarre…"

Kairi shrugged. Despite her remark, she no was no longer sure that it was simply a dream.

* * *

After they finished lunch, they spent the afternoon putting the raft together. When they finished, they looked upon their handiwork, beaming with pride.

"This is amazing!" Sora said, excited. "I can't wait to take it sailing."

"We still have to practice and make sure we actually can sail it," Riku reminded him.

Sora nodded. "Yeah. I know."

Kairi giggled. "Well, I think that's enough for today. Let's pack it up."

They put their tools away and packed up their bags. Sora and Riku finished first and left for the other side of the island, saying that they were going to go to the tree and wait for them. A new memory let Lea know what tree they meant. Kairi figured that they were going to spar while they waited, a thought which gave her an idea. She zipped up her bag and left it on the raft.

Lea finished packing his bag when he noticed Kairi walking toward him, a daring smile on her face. "What's up?" he asked.

"I figured that, since we're here, we might as well get some practice in," she said. She held her hand out and wished for a Keyblade to appear. A few seconds passed, yet nothing happened. She frowned, disappointed, wondering why the weapon would not appear.

Lea shook his head. "You can't get it either? Same here. I've been having trouble getting it to appear on command, even though I passed the rest of Merlin's trials with flying colors. Wouldn't even show for my dramatic entrance to rescue Sora."

Kairi shrugged. "Oh, well. I'm sure we'll get it working pretty soon." She turned and looked back at her bag. She walked over to it, opened it up, and took out a toy sword like Sora and Riku's. "But we can still train." She gripped the sword with both hands and held it out to the side, mimicking Sora's stance.

Lea nodded appreciatively at her pose. "You might want to adjust your footing," he advised. "Be ready to move swiftly, but put your feet down firmly when you aren't moving, especially on sand."

Kairi nodded and did as he suggested. "Thanks."

Lea retrieved his frisbees and entered his own battle stance. Kairi made the first move. While she had initially taken inspiration from Sora in terms of a fighting stance and style, she had quickly figured out that following his pattern exactly was not good for her back, so she decided to come up with her own style. She decided that, rather than focus on the weight and power of the attacks and force her body to follow through on them, she should make the attacks fit her naturally lithe and agile figure and movements. She was light on her feet while still landing firmly for each hit, and her style incorporated quick lunges and flashy pirouettes. Lea was impressed; he had a tendency to jump around and use both long- and short-ranged attacks, and Kairi's movements allowed her to close the gap as well as jump out of the way of his strikes. Her free-flowing movement let her swing her sword as if it were an extension of her body rather than let the weapon drag her around, with an ease that most swordsmen took a long time to learn. Her sparring sessions with Tidus and Selphie gave her the experience and practice to refine her style. When she ended each combo, she put her feet down hard, throwing more weight into the finishers.

"You're pretty good," Lea commended after Kairi deflected one of his frisbees and struck him in the chest with a single spinning lunge.

"You too," she returned the compliment.

They dueled for a few more minutes before Kairi got tired, so they decided to meet up with Sora and Riku. They returned to the opposite side of the island and climbed up onto the elevated platform that was connected to a bridge. Kairi went first, and Lea was about to go next, but he turned around sheepishly as he realized that he was accidentally getting an upskirt shot. He did not turn back around until Kairi called down to him and offered her hand to help him up. They crossed the wooden bridge to the smaller platform elevated in the shallow water, on which several palm trees and a horizontally-extending Paopu tree grew. Sora and Riku were putting their swords into their bags, proving that they had indeed been dueling. Based on their body language, Kairi and Lea guessed that Riku had won. She cheered for both of them equally anyway.

Sora waved and Riku smiled as Kairi and Lea approached. Sora climbed over the trunk of the Paopu tree and took his seat. Kairi maneuvered around Riku and climbed up so that she was sitting next to Sora. Riku leaned back against the rooted end of the trunk. Lea stood behind the tree and leaned his elbows on the trunk on Sora's right. They sat quietly for a moment, watching the orange glow of the sunset and listening to the ocean waves lap against the rocks.

"So, what kind of worlds do you think we'll get to see?" Sora asked. Kairi and Lea held back the urge to smirk as they thought of how varied and fantastic the worlds out there really were.

Riku shrugged. "I don't know. We'll never find out by staying here," he remarked.

"But how far could a raft take us?" Lea asked. Kairi pondered the question as well, knowing that they never did and never would get the chance to find out.

"Who knows?" Riku replied, admitting that he did not have everything planned out. "If we have to, we'll think of something else."

Despite the fact that she already knew how her universe's Riku had answered, Kairi decided to ask a familiar question, both to progress the conversation logically and because she wanted to hear his answer. "So, suppose you get to another world. What would you do there?"

"Well, I haven't really thought about it," Riku admitted. Lea chuckled at his expense. Sora slapped him lightly on the forehead in Riku's defense. "It's just... I've always wondered why we're here on this island. If there are any other worlds out there, why did we end up on this one? If we get out to the other worlds, maybe we'll find the answers. And, just maybe, we can see if there's anything left of your world."

Kairi and Lea's eyes widened in amazement. So, in this universe, Riku's desire to travel to other worlds was, at least in part, inspired by a desire to uncover the truth of what had happened to their old home. They were touched. "You've been thinking a lot about this, haven't you?" Kairi noted.

Riku smiled softly. "Thanks to you and Lea. If you hadn't come here, I probably would've never thought of any of this," he said. "Kairi, Lea, thanks."

Kairi giggled. "You're welcome," she replied.

"No problem," Lea added.

Shortly after, they decided to call it a night. Kairi and Lea led the way back to the dock, with Sora and Riku following. As they crossed the beach, Lea glanced back and saw Riku toss a Paopu fruit to Sora, then tease him about sharing it with Kairi. Embarrassed, Sora tossed it off of the bridge after Riku passed him, then followed him down the stairway carved into the rock wall and out of the shed at the base of the platform. Lea chuckled, then went to help Kairi put their stuff in the boat and untie the rope.

* * *

That night, Kairi had a very strange dream. She started out in a beautiful scene where the blue sky extended endlessly, reflected flawlessly on the watery surface on which she stood. Suddenly, a wave of Shadows appeared out of nowhere and flew around. When it flew past her, she was suddenly in a desert landscape filled with broken stone mountains and lifeless Keyblades. The swarm of Shadows continued to fly, and each time it passed her, she saw a different face: a woman with blue hair who somehow struck her as familiar; a boy who looked like Roxas, but something told her he was not the same; a man who looked like a younger, brown-haired clone of Xemnas; a black-haired girl whose face and hairstyle reminded her of her own younger self; Roxas, for real this time; and Saïx. A tornado made up of Shadow Heartless rose up ahead of her. She saw Sora, Riku, King Mickey, and Lea throw themselves at the tornado, aiming to strike the monster swarm down with their Keyblades, only to be swept up in the tide. Kairi gasped and reached her arm out toward them, but in a split second, they were gone. Another wave of Shadows flew toward her, but then they exploded into glowing white chains. She turned around and saw Naminé standing there, extending her hand out toward her, much like when she appeared to rescue her from the Organization's prison. Kairi took her hand and saw a flash of light.

When the light faded, she was falling from the sky. Six lights of different colors flew alongside her, swirling around her, then dispersed. As she passed through a cloud, she saw Sora, Riku, and Lea falling as well. She tightened her arms and legs together to reduce resistance and try to go faster so she could reach them. When she came close to Sora, she extended her arm out for him to grab. The moment their fingers touched, however, Kairi was suddenly tumbling downward through a body of water. Over time, her descent slowed, and she eventually began to feel herself rotate. She felt her feet touch ground. She took a step, causing the dark sheet below her to explode into doves, which flew away. After watching the doves fly off, she looked back down and saw that she was standing on a circular stained glass platform that depicted Naminé over a grey and pale blue background. Circles surrounded the outer rim, showing images of crayons, sketch books, the roses that made up Castle Oblivion's artistry, Larxene's kunai, and Marluxia's scythe. The platform was illuminated from below. The only other light source was a spotlight high above that shone a soft pillar in front of her.

_So much to do… so little time…_ a soft, feminine voice echoed in the air with no identifiable source. _Take your time… Don't be afraid…_

"Naminé?" Kairi asked, recognizing the voice as that belonging to her Nobody.

_Your time to awaken draws near… Follow my guidance… Step forward…_ Naminé's voice continued. Kairi wondered why she was speaking in such a cryptic manner, but noticed that the situation was similar to how Sora had described his own dream. Naminé had access to all of Sora's memories; could it be that, whatever this "dream" was about, she was simply copying the instructions that he had heard?

Following her instructions, Kairi stepped into the glowing pillar. She saw three pedestals materialize out of the ground in front of her. A black shield with a red frame materialized above the pedestal to the right. _Power sleeps within you…_ Naminé said. A green staff with a blue crystal materialized above the pedestal to the left. _If you give it form…_ A sword with a gold hilt appeared over the pedestal in front of Kairi. _It will give you strength… Choose well…_

Kairi walked around, examining each weapon closely. As she passed each one, she heard Naminé provide commentary as if reading from a museum placard. _The power of the guardian. Kindness to aid friends. A shield to repel all… The power of the warrior. Invincible courage. A sword of terrible destruction… The power of the mystic. Inner strength. A staff of wonder and ruin…_ She considered which she would like to take and which she would give up. She imagined the sword, which was to be wielded by a warrior to strike down his enemies. She did not particularly want to be a warrior. She just wanted to stand by Sora and Riku's side and keep them safe like they had done for her. Looking back at each weapon, she considered that she could complement Sora and Riku's strength, as well as Lea's. Sora had chosen the sword and given up the wand. What would she choose?

She approached the wand and took it in her hand. She had heard much about magic from Sora and Riku, how one could cast fire, project freezing blasts, command the wind, or heal injuries. She laughed when Riku told her about how one spell let him conjure giant balloons which he used to throw Xehanort's younger self around. She wanted to learn spells like that and use them to help her friends.

_Is this the power you seek?_ Naminé asked.

"Yes," Kairi answered.

The wand vanished in a flash of light. _Now, what will you give up in exchange?_ Kairi turned to look at the other two weapons. She did not want to give up the shield, because how could she keep her friends safe if she could not adequately defend herself or them. Instead, she walked over and took the sword. _You give up this power?_ Kairi nodded. The sword faded away. _You've chosen the power of the mystic. You've given up the power of the warrior. Is this the form you choose?_

"Yes."

Suddenly, the pedestals began to sink into the ground, and the glass shattered from opposite ends. When the whole platform burst into shards, Kairi fell into the void. After a few moments of falling, she landed feet-first on another platform, which depicted a black-haired girl dressed in an Organization XIII uniform hooded duster on an orange background. A prominent section of the background resembled the Twilight Town clock tower, although Kairi had never actually seen it, only recognizing the shape from a poster in the hangout under the rail tracks. The encircling images depicted Sea Salt Ice Cream, the Kingdom Key, thalassa seashells, Roxas, Axel, Riku, and Naminé. Once again, she wondered who the girl could be. Before she could ponder further, the staff appeared in her hand. As she examined the wand, she noticed that the crystal was shaped to resemble King Mickey's head, except the ears were ovoidal rather than flat. As she thought on it, she recalled seeing the same shape on the front of the shield. After pondering the coincidence for a few more seconds, she decided not to worry about it.

_You gained the power to fight,_ Naminé said. Kairi swung the staff the same way she had done with the toy sword. Creatures formed from the shadows, rising up from the ground, taking the very familiar shape of Shadow Heartless. _There will be times you have to fight. Keep your light burning strong._

"Do you really need to say that?" Kairi asked as she slashed at the Shadow in front of her, knocking it back. "That's kinda the whole reason I'm doing this." She spun around, hitting all three Heartless with her staff.

_Ahem… My bad. I'm sort of repeating something that Sora remembered from his dream. I'm sure you get the gist. Oh! Behind you!_ Kairi turned to see that, after she had apparently defeated all of the Heartless, another Shadow had attempted to sneak up behind her.

"Thanks," Kairi said as she slashed at the Shadow. After she slew the last Heartless, a shadowy void materialized from the center of the platform and expanded to swallow the entire surface. Kairi began to sink into the void, struggling to escape but failing, as if it were quicksand. She sank until she was completely enveloped in the darkness, but continued to thrash about until she realized that she was no longer trapped in darkness but lying on a different platform.

Standing up, she saw that the platform depicted six circles containing silhouetted figures from the waist up. She guessed that they were supposed to represent the other Princesses of Heart, but as she had never met them, she could not tell who each one was. Near the top image, she saw a transparent door. She walked over to it and tried to open it, but her hand passed right through. Nearby, a treasure chest appeared out of thin air. Recalling how Sora would open chests by tapping on the lids with his Keyblade, Kairi willed her wand to appear and she rapped the chest with the crystal head. The chest opened, but there was nothing inside. However, it did seem to cause the door to become a bit more solid. A crate and barrel appeared as well. After attempting to open them normally to no avail, she resorted to smashing them. That seemed to meet the requirements, and the door became completely solid. Curious as to where it led, Kairi pulled the double doors open, only for them to open automatically once they were ajar. A blinding white light shone through the crack, forcing Kairi to shield her eyes. The doors opened completely, but the light did not fade, so she simply stepped through the doorway.

She found herself standing on the upper level of the fort that was built around the trees. Three figures stood around her, manifestations generated by her subconscious. One was Naminé. Another was Selphie. The third was the same blue-haired woman from the first part of the dream. She wondered if there was supposed to be some significance to Naminé, the other side of her being, and Selphie, a link to her home, and wondered who the bluenette was.

She approached Naminé. "What's most important to you?" the blonde asked.

Kairi raised her finger to her chin, considering the question. "What's most important to me? That would be my best friends. I'm doing this all for their sake," she answered.

"Is friendship such a big deal?" the phantom of Naminé asked cryptically.

"Of course it is!" Kairi shot back without hesitation. Satisfied with her answer, Naminé smiled and faded away.

Kairi turned to Selphie. "What do you want out of life?" she asked.

"What do I want? I want to see rare sights and do the impossible, with my closest friends by my side."

"To see rare sights, huh?" The phantom of Selphie faded away.

Kairi turned to the blue-haired woman. "What are you so afraid of?" the woman asked.

"What am I afraid of?" Kairi mused. Memories played before her eyes. She watched Sora fade into light after releasing his own heart to revive her. She saw a phantom of Riku struggle to keep Ansem from attacking her. She saw herself holding Sora's hand as the worlds began to separate with the two of them on opposite sides of a rift, knowing that Sora would not be coming back with her for a while but clinging on to have just one more moment with him. She remembered a nightmare that she had a few days back, where Sora was sinking into darkness helplessly, followed by the battle where Xehanort tried to possess Sora with a piece of his heart only for Lea to save him at the last second. Lastly, she saw the scene at the beginning of her dream, where Sora and Riku were dragged to their doom by the tide of Shadows. She knew exactly how to answer the question.

"Sora and Riku, they put themselves at risk so many times to keep me safe. My biggest fear… is that one day they'd throw themselves into the abyss to save me… and… and they won't be able to come back out."

This time, the woman did not question her answer. Her expression seemed to show empathy, as if she had experienced the same pain. She nodded, then faded away.

_Your friends are the most important to you. You want to see rare sights with those close to you. You're afraid of losing your best friends,_ Naminé's voice said. _Your journey begins at dawn. As long as the sun is shining, your journey should be a pleasant one._

Kairi nodded. "Cool." There was a flash of light and she found herself standing on a new platform with a light blue background. The platform depicted Riku, wearing his grey jacket and blue jeans, but with longer hair from before he got a haircut before the Mark of Mastery exam. The encircling images depicted a toy sword, a raft, the Soul Eater sword, the creepy eye that was in the hilt of said sword, the symbol for Dream Eater Spirits, and the hood of an Organization XIII coat.

A group of Shadows appeared around her. The staff materialized in her hands, and she proceeded to fight the Heartless off until they were all gone. After that, squares of multicolored stained glass appeared, forming a path away from the upper edge of the platform. Kairi walked up the winding path until she reached another platform with a blue background, this one showing a sleeping Sora, who wore his black and red clothes that he was currently wearing in her own universe. The encircling images depicted various keychain tokens that went with each of his Keyblade forms. Seeing an illuminated column in the center of the platform, Kairi stepped into it.

_Be careful. The brighter your light shines, the deeper the shadows you may cast._ Kairi turned and saw her own shadow rise up from the ground. It grew to gigantic size, taking a physical form of shadow. Dragon-like wings grew out of its back. A tattered black robe developed around its figure, draping from its arms. Yellow eyes glowed from behind the mess of hair that tangled around its head. Kairi shuddered at the sight of the dark creature.

_But don't be afraid… and don't forget…_

Kairi took a step back, every instinct telling her to run. But she knew that in this dream, she had nowhere to run. She willed herself to stand her ground. The staff appeared in her hand. She gripped it tightly.

The Darqueen reared back and slammed its clawed hand into the ground, tearing a hole across the surface through which Shadows came out. Kairi did not waste any time, closing the distance and striking the hand with her staff while avoiding the Shadows to the best of her ability. Eventually, the Darqueen stood back up, pulling its hand away. Kairi decided to focus on defeating the Shadows. After a moment, the Darqueen slowly spread its arms out. Lightning crackled around its hands and arced over its head to cross over to each other, forming a ball of energy above its head. Bolts of energy shot from the ball and flew toward Kairi. Kairi ran to avoid the attack, striking down the last Heartless along the way. She ran over to one of the Heartless' legs and swung her staff at its ankles. As another bolt flew toward her, she swatted it away, and it arced up toward the Darqueen's head.

Kairi continued to whatever damage she could, deflecting the energy bolts back up to the Heartless' head when they came near. After a minute, the lightning and energy orb dissipated. The Heartless reared back and drove its claws into the ground again. Kairi returned to the hand, attacking it. After a moment, she had an idea. Stepping up onto its hand, she marched up the arm and climbed up onto its shoulder. Safely standing on the giant's shoulder, she began to whale on its head with her staff. When it began to stand back up, she stopped so she could adjust her footing as it shifted. When she and the giant were stabilized, she continued her attack.

Pretty soon, the Heartless' form began to shudder. After one last combo finisher, it stumbled and lurched, causing Kairi to fall off. She groaned in pain as she hit the ground and picked herself up. She saw that the Darqueen was starting to fall over, right above her, so she prepared to defend herself, until the staff vanished into thin air. The Heartless began to dissolve, dripping black globs from its collapsing form. Kairi turned to run, wanting to get out of harm's way. However, a large glob landed on her foot, pinning it to the ground. She tried to pull herself free, but she could not. Another glob landed on her shoulder, causing her to drop to the ground. The black globs continued to fall on and around her, covering her and leaving her unable to move.

_But don't be afraid…_ A glob fell on her head and began to drip over her eyes. The shadows covered the entire platform, and Kairi felt herself sinking into the goop. _You hold the mightiest weapon of all…_

_I'd be a little more reassured if you weren't just riffing off of Sora's memories,_ Kairi remarked inwardly.

_I can hear you,_ Naminé retorted.

Kairi sank into the darkness.

* * *

She woke up shortly after. She shielded her eyes from the sun's morning rays and sat up in bed.

_That was just like the dream Sora said he had,_ she thought. _Is it supposed to mean something?_

She climbed out of bed and walked over to her table, where she saw an incomplete trinket made of thalassa shells. She smiled, remembering the lucky charm that she had made two years ago, and which she had given to Sora before he left on his return trip to Hollow Bastion. Maybe she could finish it for her doppelgänger, seeing as they were sharing the same body. She took it and put it into her bag.

Lea knocked on her door and opened it. "Morning, Flower Girl," he greeted. "Ready for a new day?"

* * *

On the islet, Riku and Lea took the raft out for a trial sailing run. Meanwhile, Kairi and Sora had the job of gathering provisions and ingredients from around the islet. After a few hours, they would switch roles. Sora showed Kairi how to knock coconuts out of the palm trees without letting them fall on their heads. Later, Kairi stifled her laughter as she watched Sora climb another palm tree to reach a seagull egg on another tree. On the glimpses that she caught out at sea, Kairi could tell that Riku and Lea were having fun sailing.

"Okay, we got two sets of mushrooms," Kairi said after she picked the mushrooms that she found in the alcove behind the rock that Sora moved aside. She stuck her tongue out in mild disgust of the fungi, of which she was not a fan, as she dropped them in a plastic bag. "Are there any more we can pick?"

"There would probably be some growing in the Secret Place," Sora said.

"Good idea," Kairi commended. They returned to the other side of the island, greeted Wakka as they stepped out onto the wider area of beach, and pushed their way through the vines that hung in front of the cave entrance. Placing their hands on the rock wall to guide them, they navigated the narrow, winding path until they came out into a larger room. The walls were covered in chalk drawings, illuminated by the sunlight shining through a hole in the ceiling. On the opposite side, there was a wooden door that did not have a doorknob.

Kairi shivered as she looked at the door. When her island was attacked two years before, she had somehow known to go to the door. She had approached it in almost a trance-like state, feeling the strong aura of darkness permeating through the air of the cave. She registered Sora calling her name, and she turned around to face him, weakly saying his name, only for the door to blow open and a strong wind to thrust her toward Sora. The next thing she knew, she was inside Sora's heart.

"You okay, Kairi?" Sora asked.

Kairi nodded. "Yeah. I'm fine." Wanting to draw attention away from what had happened, she scanned the area for mushrooms. She saw a batch a few feet away to the right of the door and pointed them out to Sora. They crouched in front of the wall and picked the mushrooms, putting them in their pouch.

After pocketing the mushrooms, they took notice of a pair of drawings directly in front of them. They smiled as they remembered when they drew profiles of each other's faces when they were children. Kairi also had another memory tied to the drawings that Sora did not: the day she returned to the islands after the worlds were restored, she went back into the Secret Place and saw that her Sora had added something to it—a hand passing a Paopu Fruit from him to Kairi. She was touched by the gesture and copied the shape, passing one back to him. She noticed that the drawing had not been appended yet, but she could tell from her doppelgänger's memories that she might be interested.

"You know, this cave is filled with so many memories," Kairi said, glancing around at all of the drawings that she, Sora, Riku, Lea, Tidus, Wakka, and Selphie had made. Some of the ones that she remembered on her world were gone on this world, or they were in a different place, or slightly different, while there were some new ones as well. Her doppelgänger's memories flowed in to provide context to each unfamiliar image, and also to the images whose stories were altered by Lea's presence.

Sora nodded in agreement. "Yeah. You know, I used to see this place as something mysterious and spooky. When I was little, I even thought there were monsters in here." He let out a laugh. "Then we 'conquered' this place, and we turned it into a place of memories."

Kairi giggled. "We did. Although, I think this place still has an air of mystique to it. Like that door." She turned to address the mysterious door, then let out a yelp as she saw something she was not expecting.

She and Sora shot up and turned to face the stranger that had materialized in the cave only twenty feet away from them. Kairi's heart rate skyrocketed. How had the figure come in without either of them noticing? Even the smallest sounds tended to echo in the small space, and they would surely have heard the vines rustle from outside. Sora instinctively took a step forward so that he could step between the stranger and Kairi if he were to try something.

They could not see anything about the figure that left any indication of who he was or what he looked like. He wore a large brown robe with the hood raised, its sleeves so long and baggy that they completely covered his arms. His face was completely obscured in shadows under the hood. Two dark brown belts looped over his shoulders and under the opposite arms, creating an X as they crossed over his chest. Although she could not figure out who he was, he exuded a hauntingly familiar aura that put her further on edge.

"Who are you?" Sora asked.

"I've come to see the door to this world," the stranger said in a masculine baritone. Kairi gasped as she recognized the voice all too well. _Ansem!_

"Huh?" Sora was confused by Ansem's statement.

"This world has been connected," Ansem continued.

"What are you talking about?" Sora asked.

"Tied to the darkness, soon to be completely eclipsed."

"Whoever you are, stop freaking us out like this," Sora warned, noticing Kairi's fear. He then stopped and blinked as he realized something strange. "Huh? Wh-Where did you come from?"

"You do not yet know what lies beyond the door," Ansem said. Kairi shivered. She could almost _feel_ him smirking at the notion of their "ignorance".

"So… you're from another world?" Sora realized.

"Uh, Sora? I don't think we should…" Kairi touched him on the arm and tried to tell him that they should leave.

"There is so very much to learn. You understand so little," Ansem said dismissively. "Your light does not shine all the way through."

Kairi gulped and hid behind Sora. Although she still could not see his face, it seemed as though Ansem was looking directly at her.

Sora glared at the robed figure, partially indignant at the insult and partially angry that he was scaring Kairi. "Oh yeah? Well, you'll see. We're going to get out and learn what's out there!" he challenged.

"A meaningless effort. One who knows nothing can understand nothing," Ansem retorted.

Affected by his words, Sora looked uncertainly at the door, wondering if he would ever really find what he and his friends were looking for. When he turned back to the figure, he saw that he had vanished without a sound.

"Kairi, I think he's gone," he said. Kairi peeked out from behind him, then breathed a sigh of relief as she saw that Ansem really was gone.

"You okay?" Sora asked.

Kairi nodded. "Yeah," she replied.

"Any idea what he was talking about?"

"No," she lied, shaking her head. "He just gave me the creeps." She did not want to tell him the real reason for her anxiety. "Well, we should head back out."

"You go on ahead. I'll take another look around," Sora said. Kairi nodded, then turned to leave. As she meandered through the path leading out of the cave, she heard the scratch of a chalk rock on the cave wall. She smiled, knowing exactly what he was doing.

When she stepped out onto the sand, she saw Lea and waved to him. He gave her a relaxed salute as he made his way over to her, but his grin faded when he noticed her poorly-covered up expression of fear and anxiety. "Whoa, hey, what's wrong?" he asked, concerned.

Kairi took a deep breath before answering. "Ansem. Xehanort's Heartless. He was in there," she said.

Lea went pale. "Did he do anything? What was he doing there?"

"He said he wanted to see the door to this world."

Lea crossed his arms pensively. "So, the Keyhole is in there, I take it," he surmised. "Do you think…"

Kairi nodded. "I think the Heartless are going to attack tonight."

"If so, then they're going to try to destroy this world. But the thing is, that's almost certainly going to be our gateway out into the worlds and onto the adventure we need."

Kairi nodded again, letting Lea know that she fully understood the dilemma that they faced. She thought about it for a moment before she reached a conclusion. "Try to stop this world from falling into darkness, and leave all others to be doomed, or let it happen, let everyone we love suffer the apocalypse and drown in shadow, so that we can save all of the worlds including this one. And not just here, but also so we will be able to fight to protect all of the worlds back home and everyone on them." She sighed. "I know it's going to break my heart, but we have to let it happen."

"You're right," Lea agreed. "If we want to help everyone, we can't prevent this tragedy." His tone remained calm, but tears rolled down his cheeks, and he balled his fists. Kairi could tell that the situation hurt him almost as much as it ate at her.

Lea shook his head and wiped his tears. "Well, when Sora comes back out, why don't you go sailing. I'm sure it will clear your head."

Kairi nodded. "Okay."


End file.
